In an effort to respond to many citizen requests concerning the safety of Hayes State Prison and the safety of personnel working within the prison Chattooga County Sole Commissioner Jason Winters, Senator Jeff Mullis, Senator Chuck Hufstetler and Representative Eddie Lumsden met with Senior Department of Corrections staff at the Capitol in Atlanta on Monday. The elected officials received an update on the status at the facility and all felt that over the last 48 hours the Department of Corrections is doing everything possible to address lingering issues within the facility.

“While specific details and actions cannot be disclosed because of security concerns and ongoing investigations I have spoken to Warden Clay Tatum and Northern Field Operations Manager Rick Jacobs and both are working very hard to correct issues with locks and adding additional staff through this time. I am very glad that the two officers injured Saturday night are doing well and I am sure the situation could have been much worse. Department of Corrections Commissioner Brian Owens was personally on site over the weekend and I know he is very committed to the safety of his employees and to ensuring the facility is safe for the citizens of our community,” Commissioner Winters stated.

In the meeting on Monday the local state delegation and Commissioner Winters were notified that engineering crews had been sent to the Prison to assess all areas and the response to the incidents over the last week were described as “massive”. Correctional officials also stated that there appears to be no correlation between the three incidents involving the prisoner deaths. Correctional officials acknowledged that the facility is understaffed and are committed to improving hiring procedures to add personnel.

“This is a very tough situation for the prison staff and leadership and their jobs are extremely difficult and dangerous. I felt reassured after the meeting and after conversations with Warden Tatum and Warden Jacobs that we will see improvement over the coming weeks and months.” Winters said.